Workout Week

Workout Week #14

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Sunday

After church, I went out to a taverna where we got multiple entrees and even more appetizers, so I basically said, “Oh well,” and gave up on healthiness for the day.

Monday   FullSizeRender

It’s always easiest to stay healthy when I stay home the whole day, snacking a little bit at a time as I get hungry rather than eating a big meal.  Hermits = healthy!  Why is no one pushing this angle??

Once again I’m feeling bored with the workouts I’ve been doing for over three months now, so…YouTube!  I searched “20 minute workouts” and this was one of the first that came up.  I liked it quite a bit, and I’ll probably cycle around to it again sometime in the future.  But not too soon, because…boredom.

Tuesday   Continue reading →

Workout Week #13

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THIS WEEK’S GOAL:
Workout 20 minutes at least 4 times this week.

GOAL MET!!

Workout Note

I did it!  Mostly because I now have real workout shoes (aka sneakers aka an item I haven’t bought in at least five years)!  And because I found Ashley Horner’s Full-Body Circuit Workout on Pinterest.  As I’ve mentioned numerous times before, the thing most likely to kill my workout drive is BOREDOM so finding new combinations of exercises is key to keeping me interested.  I’ve been combining one day (around 10 minutes) with a 10-minute cardio workout on my Sworkit app, and by the end I am SWEATING.  More than other weeks, so I think this is a good combination.

Screen Shot 2016-03-27 at 8.54.07 PM

I made sure to get my four workouts in early this week because I spent the weekend at a conference…and unexpectedly walked over 10,000 steps both Friday and Saturday!

Food Notes

That conference I mentioned?  Had € 18 buffets for every meal, free with our room, and I was NOT ABOUT TO WASTE THAT OPPORTUNITY.  What I mean is, I ate a lot.  But before that, I was really good all week about keeping track of calories…and therefore eating a meal of one apple + two pieces of chocolate cake.  I blame PMS and also this article about how it doesn’t really matter what you eat so long as you restrict calories.  I don’t super believe that, but for one glorious night I went along with the idea.

Tomorrow it’s back to healthier habits.

 

NEXT WEEK’S GOAL:
Workout 20 minutes at least 5 times this week.

Workout Week #12

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Workout Notes

A couple weeks ago, I pressed pause on my workout goals because I had two weeks of friends visiting and vacations.  There wasn’t much time to work out, and I didn’t want to keep myself from eating delicious meals and snacks with them!  But now they’re gone, life has returned to normal, and I am slowly edging back into a routine.

This week started out strong, and I was actually looking forward to focusing on my health again.  This is in large part because when Jenna visited, one of the first things she said was, “You’ve lost weight!”  It was really encouraging to know that other people were noticing results, and I was eager to keep after that (especially since I’m sure I put on a couple pounds from all the food I ate with my visitors).

But on Monday, my foot was hurting again…I assume this is because I’m jumping around barefoot on linoleum.  I am supposed to go shoe shopping with a friend tomorrow, so hopefully this will no longer be a problem.  But it definitely took away some of my drive, as is obvious by how I stopped doing anything after Wednesday!

Food Notes

Much like working out, I’m slowly getting back in the habit of keeping track of what I’m eating.  Friday was my birthday, so I indulged quite a bit.  But even then, the mentality of healthiness is setting back in.  Normally I would eat something sweet for breakfast, and then get something sweet mid-afternoon, and then definitely eat something sweet at my birthday celebration.  This time, I just ate good healthy food all day and indulged in the birthday sweet (chocolate mousse – yum!) at night.

This is exactly the kind of balance I want to strike!  While my secondary goal is weight loss, my primary goal is to eat smarter and healthier.  I want to enjoy food, which means not eating snacks mindlessly.  I also want to eat real food (aka not packaged food) which, fantastically, is much easier in Greece.

Anyway, this week was not super exciting on the health front, but I’m slowly shifting my brain back to exercise and healthy eating!

NEXT WEEK’S GOAL:
Workout 20 minutes at least 4 times this week.

Workout Week n/a

Trish1 Comment

Astute readers of this blog will have noticed that last week, I did not write a Workout Week post.  Those astute readers will also quickly notice that this is also not a Workout Week post.

Here’s the deal:  The last time I worked out in the morning I threw up, so I don’t work out before leaving for class in the morning.  But I don’t get back from my class until 7:00, and after four hours of homework, it’s 11:00 and I don’t want to exercise.

Plus:  I hurt my left foot a couple weeks ago.  Not like, in any big deal way, but it hurts right in the middle any time I put pressure on it.  I think my new shoes, and then my new shoes falling apart at the heel, messed things up for me.  I’m now wearing TOMs all the time and wrapping my foot with athlete’s tape (thanks WebMD and YouTube!), and it feels a lot better.

For a week, I was not working out, AND I was feeling guilty for not working out.  The guilt made me want to eat more and be lazier, which is obviously not great.  So for my mental AND physical health, I’m taking a break from intentionally working out until my class is over.

That’s one more week!  So in two weeks, expect another Workout Week post!

 

Workout Week #11

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THIS WEEK’S GOAL:
Walk 10,000+ steps (or workout 20 minutes) at least 5 times.

WorkoutWeek 2.13.16

*GOAL MET*

Workout Notes

 

I’M BACK!  Woo hoo!  I exceeded my goal, and only had to rely on walking 10,000+ steps one day!  Look at all the exclamation points I’m using!

I am so proud of myself.  Partly because I worked out six times this week, but mostly because I worked out consistently…after two weeks of failure.  It would have been the easiest thing in the world to listen to the voices in my head telling me:  You’re not really a person who exercises.  You’re lazy!  Just roll with it!  Give up this stupid idea.

I am okay with two weeks of defeat.  But I am so glad that I didn’t let those weeks derail me entirely.  I’m back, I’m working out, and I’m going to continue to intentionally care about my health!

Food Notes

 

As I’ve noticed several times before, there is such a correlation between healthy actions and healthy eating!  Once I started exercising regularly again, I wanted to pay attention to what I ate.  I cared about counting calories and avoiding overeating.  This shouldn’t be surprising, since I tend to be an all-or-nothing sort of person.  I’m either healthy in everything or not at all.

For the record, here are the foods I eat the most here in Greece:

  • fresh fruit (oranges, bananas, and kiwis mostly)
  • pistachios
  • yogurt and muesli
  • salad and feta cheese
  • avocados
  • cereal
  • turkey and cheese sandwiches
  • hot chocolate
  • white wine

And then on the weekends, or whenever I’m out with friends, I just eat whatever I want without caring about calories.  Social food is free food.  I am still adamant about my belief that food is a gift to be enjoyed, and if my “health” consciousness starts encroaching upon fun times, then something is going wrong in my brain.  Losing weight and gaining strength is not worth being unhappy.

NEXT WEEK’S GOAL:
Workout 20 minutes (or walk 10,000+ steps) at least 5 times this week.

Workout Week #10

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THIS WEEK’S GOAL:  20 minutes at least 5 times this week.

WorkoutWeek 2.7.16

GOAL NOT MET

Workout Notes

Isn’t it around now that I ought to have developed a habit!?  I worked really hard for eight weeks and now…it’s all falling apart.  I guess it’s not surprising, since I am in the middle of a lot of mental and emotional stress.  One Greek proverb is: A healthy mind in a healthy body, and I will add the opposite:  An unhealthy mind seeks an unhealthy body.

How are there some people who feel stressed and then WANT to work out?

Hm, okay.  I still have four more weeks of language classes, so my stress level is unlikely to decrease before then.  I’m going to have to think creatively…alright!  This week I’m going to focus on walking 10,000+ steps!  That seems more likely than actually working out, although of course I will count that if I do.

Food Notes

I did better with food this week than last, but it’s still not great.  I’m not regularly keeping track of calories, but I tried to buy healthier foods to snack on.  So that’s…good!

And anyway, I wanted to go easier on myself with food.  I NEVER want to lose my love of eating, I just want to eat smart and in proportion to how much I’m exercising.  Which, granted, is not much.  BUT STILL.  Food is delicious, and I refuse to punish myself for enjoying it.

But…I’ll try to do better counting calories next week.  It really does help me avoid mindlessly snacking.

NEXT WEEK’S GOAL:  Walk 10,000+ steps (or workout 20 minutes) at least 5 times.

Workout Week #9

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THIS WEEK’S GOAL:  20 minutes at least 5 times this week.

WorkoutWeek 1.31.16

GOAL NOT MET

Workout Notes

wah waaaah

There goes the success streak.  I was doing so well!  And then Thursday and Friday I was gone all day – literally getting back home at 11:30 p.m. – and then….Saturday I just didn’t want to!  And today I didn’t want to!  And….I didn’t want to write this blog post about how much I don’t want to work out.

Food Notes

There is such a correlation between acting healthy and eating healthy.  As my workout ethic deteriorated, so did my willpower to avoid eating chocolate bars.  And as I ate a bunch of junk food, my body felt more and more like a beached whale that is unable to sit up, let alone do jumping jacks and burpees.

NEXT WEEK’S GOAL:  20 minutes at least 5 times this week.

(I will try again!  Tomorrow is another day!!)

Workout Week #8

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THIS WEEK’S GOAL:  20 minutes at least 5 times this week.

WorkoutWeek 1.23.16

GOAL MET

Workout Notes

This week was weird.  On the one hand, my Greek lessons and Greek homework took up an enormous amount of my time, making it harder to make room for working out.  On the other hand, I had a lot of stress manifesting itself physically, and I found that a good cardio workout went a long way toward making me feel better.

Exercise…making me feel…better?  Wow.

I’m continuing with my 30 Day challenges and Sworkit app.  In addition, I walked about four miles every weekday – mostly from Syntagma to Pangrati and back (the metro station to my Greek class).  So all in all, it was a very active week!

Food Notes

Another weird thing.  I…didn’t eat much this week?  Maybe due to stress, but usually when I’m stressed I OVEReat.  I don’t know.

My eating schedule most days was this:  eat cereal for breakfast at 9:00, eat a snack (strawberries/little pastry/etc) at 1:00, eat dinner at 7:00 when I got home.  I kept having 300 or 400 calories left over every day, but I never kept myself from eating when I was hungry.

Is this normal?  If you’re walking a lot, do you stop being hungry?  Maybe so, because today I stayed in my room most of the time, and I found myself snacking a lot.  Hmmmm.  Maybe it’s not so mysterious.

NEXT WEEK’S GOAL:  20 minutes at least 5 times this week.

(I have less and less time due to my Greek lessons 1.5 hours away,
so I don’t want to push my luck.)

Workout Week #7

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THIS WEEK’S GOAL:  17 minutes at least 5 times a week.

WorkoutWeek 1.16.16

Workout Notes

Six days out of seven! (I didn’t work out on Sunday because….I had just arrived in a new country and didn’t feel like it.)  I think I’m actually….enjoying it??  Ugh, I kind of hate myself, because “those” kinds of people always seemed horrible and showoff-y to seven weeks ago lazy Tricia.  But several times this week I thought, “I could just not workout today” but then thought, “Nah, I want to.”  WHAT EVEN IS HAPPENING.

Partly it’s because there is a very slight indentation above my knee where I think I am developing a thigh muscle.  And my shoulders look more like shoulders and less like slopes extending from neck to hand.  Now that I can see some (tiny) tangible changes, it makes me want to keep going.

icon175x175Oh, and I discovered a new app!  Hah, if I’ve learned anything from this, it’s that I really do need constant change to stay interested.  I’m still doing the 30 Day Challenges (which are getting ROUGH), but I’m currently obsessed with Sworkit.  Four workout types are offered for free (stretch, yoga, cardio, strength). You can choose whether you want to work out for 5, 10, 15, etc minutes, and then it gives you random exercises in 30 second intervals.  I like to turn on some pop music and then do 10 minutes of light cardio.

Food Notes

I was going to give myself a pass, since 90% of moving to Greece was about the food (and, uh, the work I’m preparing to do).  But I don’t think it’ll be a problem.  Greeks don’t really overeat.  We have a big lunch, and then breakfast and dinner are small, and I haven’t really gotten hungry.  I do tend to snack on pistachios, which are very healthy AND super cheap here in the Mediterranean.

Actually, who knows?  I could eating horribly, because I’ve been guessing on a lot of the calories.  I can’t read the nutritional information on food bought here.  I’m googling most things and guesstimating, but I feel okay with that.  I’m being thoughtful about the things that I eat, and that’s what I care about most.

Plus: SLOUVAKI.  I’m not going to NOT eat that.

NEXT WEEK’S GOAL:  20 minutes at least 5 times a week.

Workout Week #6

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This Week’s Goal:  15 minutes at least 5 times a week.  

GOAL MET

Workout Notes

Can I just stop to bask in the pride of doing this workout thing for SIX WEEKS?  That’s incredible.  I guess making my goals public really was helpful in keeping me accountable!  Thank you to everyone who has commented and kept me excited.

Over the last six weeks, I’ve realized that boredom is my biggest struggle.  I hate doing the same thing day in and day out.  I’ve found a lot of different apps and YouTube videos to keep me interested, and this week I found something else:  30-Day Challenges!   Continue reading →